Page 16 of Falling Backwards
“Yeah,” he admits with his own little laugh.“I had to get her to notice me again, you know?She’s just so pretty.”
Oh my….
When I look back to him, I try to politely withdraw my hand from his, but he doesn’t seem to want to let go.However, a touch of insistence helps me out and encourages him to release me.
I smile more about that than I do his flattery.
Please go back to work.I don’t wanna be hit on.
The interest he evidently has in me still isn’t mutual.While his outgoing nature and intensely brown eyes probably appeal to lots of other girls, I feel again like I’d rather be left to myself.
So it’s with sincerity that I say, “Thank you for the compliment,” but with even more awkwardness that I look away and finally take a bite of my spicy fry.
“Absolutely, but hey, I’ll let you eat!”A glance at his shoes tells me he’s moving away from us.“I’ll see you around!”
Once again, my small smile isn’t in response to what he’s said so much as what he’s done.
When he’s gone, Emma remarks, “He’s cute.”
“Super cute smile,” Joy agrees.
I blow out a breath.“Yeah…but….”
Emma winks and adds around her new bite of food, “He wikes you.”
Joy giggles.
“Seems that way,” I murmur.I pick up a couple more fries.“But I’m not feeling it.”
“No?”Now Joy regards me pensively, then does the same to where he stood before.“I did kind of think you were withdrawn, but I figured you were just being shy after what happened with Marcus.”
I’m chewing, so I shake my head.No, even though I’m still coming back from being dumped, this doesn’t specifically have anything to do with my ex.
Emma says easily, “Well, that’s that.Shy’s one thing.Uninterested’s another.”
“Sure is!”Joy smiles brightly at me.“No wonder you didn’t mention him last night.”
In a hushed whisper, Emma adds, “And no wonder you didn’t appreciate his snatchy fucking handshake.”
That gets full laughter out of me and Joy.Emma joins in after a second and winks again, giving me an,‘I got you, girl,’look.
I split a warm smile between my friends.
Then I say, “Okay, so, any more decisions on the birthday party plan?”
—
When it’s time to go to work, I still wish I didn’t have to change clothes, but I’m comforted by the thought of the restaurant itself.
Lucent was a part of my life long before I started working there.It was the go-to spot for every special occasion my parents and I had, predating even my earliest memories—starting with my dad proposing to my mom when I was two.They’d been dating for a year and a half when I surprised them, but they didn’t rush to get married; it was important to them that I be there in person on their big day.The pictures of their engagement on Lucent’s patio and of their wedding are some of the happiest I’ve ever seen of them.And I’m right there in their arms or at their sides, tiny and grinning too.
For a little over two years after my parents retired and moved away, I continued the work I’d started in our family’s accounting firm.I had never been sure of what interested me career-wise, so my dad convinced me to spend as much time as I could in our safe space, which one of my uncles had taken over.It was a smart idea, but when it eventually became clear that I wasn’t happy, I felt stuck.Since my bank account had a reliable amount of money in it by then, Emma told me to start considering options for another job by thinking about something that has always brought me joy.
The restaurant stood out in my mind.
Although it has been updated and made even nicer over the years in both appearance and menu, Lucent is also family-owned and therefore still much the same place it was back in the day.Emma’s advice had me thinking of the special memories it held for me.Had me thinking of gorgeous yet heartwarming meals and the magic of the atmosphere built by the Polk family.As if I were standing there that very minute, I could feel how warm and elegant the place was; it always seemed like home to me in a way, even though it’s just a place people go to eat.
Mr.Polk took over for his parents around the time mine moved away, but he was as familiar with us as they had been.He found a job for me without hesitation when I decided I wanted one.As for my parents, they thought the idea of me working at Lucent was sweet and fun.
